Healthy Democracy Oregon Blog

July 1, 2011

Welcome to HDO's Ballot Measure Round-Up! In this series, we explore the initiative process and the prospective measures that may be put to vote in the 2012 election.

Background
Since 1902, Oregon voters have had the power to enact new laws, change existing laws, or amend the Oregon Constitution through initiatives and referendums. Any citizen, acting individually or on behalf of an organization, may sponsor initiatives.

We are pleased to introduce the newest addition to the Healthy Democracy Oregon staff. Heather Marek is the Outreach Coordinator. She joined the Healthy Democracy Oregon team in the summer of 2010, assisting with the research, event coordination, and support to moderators in the August Citizens' Initiative Review pilot project.

After an exhaustive evaluation, a team of university researchers reports that voters found the two Citizens' Initiative Reviews useful when making decisions about ballot measures. This was the first time voters had access to this innovative source of information. "We're very proud to know that this first round of Citizens' Initiative Reviews was well received by the voting public" said Healthy Democracy Oregon's Co-Director, Tyrone Reitman.

Last week, the results of a poll by The Oregonian were released. 500 Oregon voters were polled regarding how they plan to vote in the November 2 election on candidates and ballot measures. The poll contained questions about the same ballot measures--73 and 74-- that were evaluated by randomly selected, demographically balanced citizens in the Citizens’ Initiative Review.